The Mw 6.5 earthquake that struck Tonopah at 4am this morning was the strongest trembler to occur in the state of Nevada in over 65 years. IGPP Seismologist Debi Kilb is still reviewing the data from today's rare event, but took the time to compare the quake and subsequent aftershocks to last year's Ridgecrest events.
According to Kilb, "Comparing today’s magnitude 6.5 earthquake in Tonopah, Nevada, with last summer's magnitude 6.4 earthquake near Ridgecrest, California, we find that the Nevada earthquake sequence contains larger aftershocks within the first hour of the sequence. The initial behavior of both aftershock sequences, however, show a similar and expected decay rate."
According to the USGS, on the liklihood of large aftershocks: "The chance of an earthquake of magnitude 6 or higher is 10%.”